Vacation Update (with pics)

After the difficult start, our vacation has been going along fine. Yes, with an active three year old, there are behavioral issues here and there, but mostly Max is just pushing to the limit and not crossing the line. I'm sure it helps (and by design) I've had something planned every few days that he really wants to do as incentive to being a good listener and adequate behavior. We took the Christmas train to the north pole to see Santa over the weekend. It was Max's first Santa visit and he loved it. Probably, he loved the fact that a train ride was involved even more. Monday, he and I ran a slew of errands to get ready for the holiday and today we headed to Santa Barbara to the zoo and beach. Again, I think seeing the animals and the beach were fine side dishes, but he got to ride the zoo train twice. Oh, what a thrill for a train enamored three year old boy. I'm solo with the kids for the next 2 days. Well, my mom and my sister are coming tomorrow mid day and staying over for Christmas so that will be nice. I'm ready, stress free, and hoping for a half decent night sleep for the holidays. The last few nights have been a blur, but I know there were a lot of wakings and each kid was up at least once with 2 out of the three up at least twice. Either way, I've got a Honey Baked Ham dinner with some easy appetizers and veggies to heat and everything else is ready, ready, ready. I'm looking forward to the holiday and Max is looking forward to Santa. This year he really seem to get it. When we were running errands, he kept looking at all the houses and saying which one has a chimney and which didn't. Last week, we spent a good amount of time for several days (even out in the rain) in the back yard staring and pondering our chimney. He amazed me when he asked what happens if there is a fire in the fireplace. The kid is always thinking. He's always coming up with things like that. Anyway, I'm sure I'm rambling at this point so over and out for the duration. Merry Christmas for those who celebrate and Happy Holidays for those that don't.